Rohtas is a community development block in Rohtas district of Bihar, India. The block headquarters is in the village of Akbarpur, 5 km east of the historic Rohtas Fort. As of 2011, the population of Rohtas block was 86,049.
History The eponymous fortress of Rohtas was an important centre under Sher Shah Suri and during the Mughal period.
The village of Akbarpur, in the foothills near Rohtasgarh, formed a pargana during the Mughal period. The tomb of Malik Wishal Khan, the daroga of Rohtasgarh under Shah Jahan, is located here.
Geography Rohtas block is geographically diverse, with parts of it lying on the Sasaram Plain and other parts on the Rohtas Plateau, a hilly outcrop of the Vindhya Range.
Demographics
In 2011, the population of Rohtas block was 86,049, of which 4,504 lived in the census town of Telkap and 81,545 in rural areas. The overall sex ratio of the block was 944 females to every 1000 males, which was the highest in the district. The sex ratio was higher in rural areas (947) than in urban areas (904); it was also higher in the 0-6 age group than in the general population. In the 0-6 age group, the sex ratio was 957 (960 in rural areas, and 910 in urban areas), which was the second-highest in the district behind Dawath. (The rural 0-6 sex ratio, however, exceeded Dawath's, making it the highest in the district.)
Members of scheduled castes numbered 15,794 in Rohtas block, representing 18.35% of the population; this proportion was almost identical to the district average of 18.57%. Members of scheduled tribes numbered 6,885, representing 8% of the population, which was much higher than the district average of 1.07%. Additionally, the town of Telkap, in Rohtas block, had the highest proportion of scheduled tribes membership among urban areas in the district of Rohtas (6.86%, compared to the average of 0.75%).
Literacy in Rohtas block was somewhat below the district average: 66.41% of people in the block could read and write, compared with 73.37% in the district as a whole. Literacy was higher in men than in women; 76.24% of men but only 55.96% of women could read and write. The corresponding gender gap in literacy was 20.28%, which was marginally above the district average of 19.91%.
A slight majority of the workforce of Rohtas block was employed in agriculture in 2011, with 12.13% being cultivators who owned or leased their own land and 38.77% being agricultural labourers who worked someone else's land for money. Another 5.77% of the workforce was employed in household industries, and the remaining 43.33% were employed in other forms of work.
Economy Near the village of Banjari there are significant limestone deposits which are mined for use in the production of cement.
Of the total land area in Rohtas block, 31.57% is cultivable land; of the cultivable land, 54.92% was irrigated in 2011.
Villages Rohtas block contains 37 villages, of which 33 are inhabited and 4 are uninhabited.
Village name Total land area (hectares) Population (in 2011) Tumba 639.9 6,135 Karma 356.9 2,177 Basarhi 160.6 93 Nawadih 346 4,415 Dhelabar 297.4 2,707 Khajuri 253.7 1,838 Rasulpur 275.6 3,532 Kasiawan 298 4,047 Bazidpur 121 2,689 Banjari 270 2,629 Lebura 220.81 1,797 Kalyanpur 207.85 1,676 Kachhuhar 6,711.3 501 Kaskudar 82.72 0 Amra 121.46 0 Mandha 126.62 520 Amdih 103.53 174 Kauriari 6,235 2,349 Budhua 5,572.32 2,000 Rohtas 4,213.6 2,718 Diadih 916.83 627 Bharuhi 141.8 472 Samahuta 545.56 2,943 Murli Pahari 53.38 250 Baknaur 723.07 7,558 Merara 53.64 0 Akbarpur (capital) 333 9,236 Uchaila 517.93 5,125 Baskatia 178 2,416 Kusdihra 342 2,010 Rajpur 77.97 0 Milki 30.18 858 Jamua 204.84 2,541 Kanakpur 52.73 69 Nawadih 261.11 2,226 Maghigawan 235.64 1,904 Thummha 338.36 1,313
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